Austin Adventure

Day 3: Elgin Area to Hornsby Bend

Was disappointed when I walked out to breakfast the next morning and saw that it
was misting
L,
but in an ongoing effort to squelch complaining (one of my spiritual
resolutions) I thanked the Lord that it wasn’t outright raining, and carried out
the routine until it was time to go.
It pretty much let up by the time I got to the start of the route, but it was
cold and windy all day (temps never got above 37 according to Bippy's
thermometer), so I did almost all my birding from the car!I pulled over to listen as often as I could safely (and without having
anyone call the cops on me for parking in their drive...), but just couldn't
kick up any longspurs (although almost every other “field bird” seemed to show
up in numbers). I braved the cold to stroll along that woodland along Carlson
Lane, which did indeed look perfect for sapsuckers, but just couldn’t kick up
the Red-naped (got a Flicker instead).Otherwise it was wonderful, as the Eastern Towhee
did
pop up for me after a bad Screech Owl imitation (along with a bunch of other
sparrows)!Unfortunately I was too
slow with the camera…

Woodland along Carlson Lane that housed an Eastern Towhee

Vesper Sparrow

Harris' Sparrow song and chortle (looped once)

Carolina Chickadee

Hornsby Bend was the afternoon destination, and thankfully I noticed the Farm
Road it was on as we drove past it on the way to whatever road I was heading for
(which happened to be a toll road; obviously I hadn’t pulled back enough on
MapQuest), and that was a
great
drive down!After I checked in at
the office, I noticed a bunch of birds feeding under a big tree, and wondering
if that’s where the Rusty Blackbird had been seen I checked it out:had Starlings, a Common Grackle, and a ton of White-winged Doves,
including a “chocolate” one!Turns
out that later someone on the Austin RBA confirmed that that’s where the Rusty
has been seen, but by the time I found that out I was getting ready to head back
to the Valley!

This place is great:you have an
“auto tour” around the ponds and back into the woods, with several places to
stop and hike a short trail.Ran
into two other carloads, though, and you really have to scootch over to let them
squeeze by!The first guy had seen
the Goldeneye and the Vermilion Flycatcher (my brain skipped over the rarities
reported here that are somewhat common in the Valley), but bemoaned that his
camera wasn’t working!The next
carload was very interested in the Canvasback I had seen (the first pond upon
getting up there was virtually empty, but the back pond was just
stuffed
with ducks—mostly Shovelers, but also Lesser Scaup, Green-winged Teal, American
Wigeon, Ruddies, a few Ringnecks, and a single Bufflehead on the back side)!The first guy also told me he thought the Rusty had been seen in one of
the corners with sludge on it, and that he had seen several Eared Grebes but no
Horned.I figured I’d pick up the
Goldeneye when I got over there, but couldn’t find her—probably overlooked her.After swinging around the back of a building and back up on the dike,
there was the Vermilion, flycatching down by the water!Cute little guy!

The duck mob at Hornsby Bend, a water treatment plant doubling as a
wildlife sanctuary!

Our two common winter warblers: Orange-crowned (left) and
Yellow-rumped.

Trail access about halfway through the driving loop

Back side of the driving loop

View from the south side of the loop

The trails were nice for exercise (and I’ll bet they’re
gorgeous
when they’re leafed out), but there wasn’t much besides the usual Cardinals,
Butterbutts, and Orangecrowns down there.After finishing up the ponds I headed up to the trailhead at the end of
Platt Lane, and incongruously saw a hummingbird feeder set out shortly after the
trail started!After wondering what
in the world they expected to attract in near-freezing weather, suddenly I heard
the rattle of a Buff-bellied Hummingbird!I suspected that may have been one of the rarities reported that didn’t
register, and sure enough, when I went back and checked the Austin RBA, there it
was!Three deer and a Cardinal on
the trail made for interesting photo ops.

Deer on the River Trail

A Cardinal on the same trail

Close-up of the Cardinal

Headed to the Best Western after that, getting turned around in construction
traffic right where I needed to turn, but we eventually found our way there.Too bad I’m not staying
here
for three nights—this is the best one so far!

Click here to continue
to Hornsby Bend revisited; here to go back to
Granger Lake.